Galway model visits Playboy Mansion

A Galway model visited the infamous Playboy Mansion in LA last week after being approached by a casting director for the magazine in May.

Galway beauty Shahira Barry was asked to attend a casting for the magazine at the beginning of the summer, but declined the offer after much consideration.

The model didn’t want to be associated with the risqué brand so early in her career for fear it would prevent her from exploring other career avenues. However, after steady contact with the magazine all summer, Ms Barry took a trip to LA this month to visit the home of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Ms Barry and pal Tina were invited to hang out at the mansion where they enjoyed cocktails by the pool, visited the on-site zoo and infamous grotto before sitting down to dinner and a movie with the man himself.

Despite its reputation, the Galway model said that the mansion was anything but sleazy.

“When I was going to the mansion, I suddenly got nervous that it may be sleazy, but the minute I was in the gate I knew that wasn’t going to be the case,” she said, adding, “It was a lovely, relaxing day with none of the craziness one may expect from the Playboy mansion”.

Since her visit, Ms Barry says she is now more open to the idea of posing for the magazine but insists it will not be on the agenda for her in the near future.

The model’s trip to LA was not all positive, however.

Ms Barry and her friend were mugged by group of men they encountered in one of the city’s nightclubs.

After indulging in the free drinks at a VIP table, the girls were taken to an after hours club which they later found out was illegal. The pair was pressured in to taking drugs, which they refused, but the Galway model is sure something was slipped in their drinks.

According to the model, she was “strategically separated” from her friend and their phones taken from them. Luckily the two managed to escape unscathed but were extremely shaken by the events.

The model said it serves as a lesson for girls to have their wits about them when visiting somewhere new.